She Came, She Saw, She Shopped!!!

There are a few things in my life that, over the years, I have used to mark change. Before the blog, any time that I resolved to make major life changes, I bought a new journal. I recently bought a journal when the job changes were getting serious and I didn't think it was appropriate to discuss them on a public forum. Actually, I didn't want to talk about a job that I wanted if I wasn't going to get it, and I was afraid that would happen a dozen times before I was hired somewhere. I am SO thankful that that wasn't the case. But still, I have a new journal that I am loving.

When I need a pick me up and am just ready to feel refreshed, I buy a new purse. I probably do this three times a year. Maybe four... one for each season. I am drawn to purples in the fall and bright colors in the summer. I'm currently rockin' an orange Sam Moon find that I L.O.V.E. $24.99, thank you very much!

When I am making routine changes though, it goes beyond a purse, and I buy a new bag. Like when I was dating Brett and moved home to save for the wedding, we were suddenly just down the road from each other. I decided to start walking to his house to get exercise, so I bought a yellow bag that had straps to wear as a backpack, to carry my wallet and phone in when I walked. When I joined OA I bought the purple bag to carry my books in. When I joined Texas Teachers I bought the orange bag that I could wear over my shoulder to carry my notebook and books and water in. I feel more secure that way. The right bag for the right occasion! I even bought a pink file folder purse to take to the job fairs. I feel more secure when I don't have to worry about dropping my heavy load.

And then on less rare occasions, there are changes that require new clothing. A wardrobe, if you will. It's not always a complete wardrobe, like ALL new clothes. For instance, there was the honeymoon wardrobe. I wanted new clothes for that. And sometimes when you are losing weight and you need to buy clothes that are not one, but two sizes smaller... that can be quite a shopping trip. Well for me, the new job was DEFINITELY one of those occasions.

I am currently a graphic designer, but I work in a print shop. There are chemicals and ink in half of the rooms in our building. And trust me. That ink? It's not coming out if you get it on you. It's permanent. So it is a very casual environment. No one wants to wear clothes that could easily get ruined, so it is an all jeans office. I don't wear t-shirts to work, but I wear mostly three quarter sleeve cotton shirts. Nothing fancy. In fact, if I wear a shirt with a pattern in it, the boys will probably make fun of me. That's one of the things that I am excited about my new job for. I will be working with GIRLS! The boys outnumber the girls 5 to 3 in my current job and 3 of those 5 boys are brothers of the other two girls in the office. There aren't exactly a lot of friendly words flying around. They weren't those kind of siblings. But I am hoping at my new job, it will be totally normal to say nice things!

So my point is, I've been shopping! Actually, it started with a bit of charity. My stylish chica Jennifer has been steadily losing weight on WW for a while now and it was time for her to clean out her closet. I am SO thankful that she thought of me before she thought of Good Will. I went to her house on Tuesday night and TOTALLY scored! I had a Lane Bryant bag literally overflowing with clothes. My favorites are the denim crops, the wraps, and two INSANELY cute dresses! Thank you Jennifer! You really are the best!

So that was helpful. I didn't have much to start with. I had one and a half pairs of jeans. One pair that fits great and one that is a little tight. I plan on fitting into those jeans again very soon, but for now, I wear the same pair of jeans almost every day. I do a lot of laundry! And then I had one white three quarter sleeve cotton shirt, one black one that matches it exactly (I got them on clearance at Wal-mart for $7 in December), one pink three quarter sleeve shirt that I like... it's a dark pink. Jewel tone. Good for brunettes. One three quarter sleeve 80's style black sweater that I like but have had for a couple of years so it's really worn out, and one three quarter sleeve black crossover shirt. This one is my favorite. But did you catch that? I have been wearing the same 5 shirts to work for a few months, and three of them are black! The repetition was so big deal at my old job because it's true for everyone there, but I want to dress better at my new job. Most of my church clothes are cute but casual, so some of them I can definitely wear to work. But that is only a few more outfits. So I wanted to go shopping. I wanted some pants that aren't jeans and some casual tops that aren't three quarters sleeve solid color shirts.

We don't have any real money, but I have a Lane Bryant credit card that was paid off, but I hadn't closed the account because I was hoping to find a new job that would require some clothes. Well I used that card today! Almost everything that I bought was on sale. I found the perfect pair of khakis and pair of brown pants that I also love but are a little long. My mom is going to take care of that tomorrow though! I bought 4 new camis because I pretty much wear one under everything that I own, and I also want to start wearing more wraps. I had a few camis, but I have had them all for a LONG time, so my 4 new ones will replace 4 old ones, no doubt! And these are nice and long with a cute strip of lace on top! So I can still wear them under shirts, but they are cute enough that I can wear them under a wrap and it can show. I also found the perfect denim jacket, which is a little heavy to wear in the Summer in Texas, but it is short, so it looks appropriate, and it is the PERFECT top to the dresses that Jennifer gave me and one that I bought on clearance. I am wearing one to church tomorrow and am hoping the air conditioner is fixed in our Sunday School room because the jacket really is the best fit for that dress. I also bought a cute patterned wrap, that I know was a good choice because I wore it to our class party tonight and got three compliments. And I got two little sweaters that button up and are crazy cute. One is black, but that means I can throw away the worn out black sweater I have been wearing. And one is navy blue, which is dark, but looks OH so cute with my new khakis. I bought a purple dress that is so summery it makes me want to go to the beach! And a shirt that is really long that I thought I would wear with a belt that I have, but Brett thought the belt wasn't big enough, so I may just take that shirt back. It was $20 and a belt would probably be at least that much... may not be worth it. I also got 4 new bras because LB is having their semi-annual buy 2 get 2 free sale. So I spent a good chunk of money, but I am feeling SOOOO much better! I am going to feel confident about my outfit every day that I walk into that new job. If I don't feel good about my outfit, I didn't take the time to put the right pieces together, because my closet is no longer lacking them.

You may remember that a couple of weekends ago, my mother-in-law bought me four pairs of shoes at the BOGO sale, all of which I am loving! And yesterday my sister gave me a TON of jewelry because now that she is selling Stella and Dot jewelry, she wanted to get rid of her jewelry that is from other sellers.

So I say all of this to say that I am one lucky girl. I am thankful for people like Jennifer who remind me that you don't have to be a size 4 to dress well. Appropriate clothing goes a long way towards building confidence. Nothing is more unflattering than uncomfortable clothes. So thank you LB for helping me fill that need. I wish that I had found brown leggings and a white wrap, but with all the points that I earned on my card today, I should have a gift card coming my way that could take care of those two items when I find them. Sweet!